When I was young, I belonged to a club that did community service work. There was one specific__16_ that was unusual for me. I spent three or four hours handing out warm dinner to the homeless out in the streets. After that I went to a homeless shelter not far from the Bay Bridge.
I was in high school and at the time my sister was too young to  17  . She wanted to help, 18  she made four or five dozen chocolate chip cookies for me to  19  and hand out to people. When _20_ to the homeless shelter, I passed out the _21_ meals. I began making sandwiches and   22   them with the crowd. I had the containers with my  23  cookies in them and began to  24  , offering them to anyone near me.
I  25  an old gentleman and said, “ Sir, would you like a cookie?” He stopped and turned around, looked at me rightly and said, “ What did you say? Did you call me sir?” I told him I __26_, and his eyes   27   a little bit and said,  “ No one has  28   called me sir.’ So he was completely moved.
It __29_  me.
I explained I had been raised that  30  color and social status, everyone deserved(应得) respect. It   31   me to think that just because he was homeless, no one  32   him the honor. It broke my heart. I just didn’t understand   33 no one ever called him sir? I had never thought that anyone was below me because I wasn’t raised that way. Every   34   person deserves to be treated with respect. Years later, I still carry that memory and the __35__ it taught me. Sometimes, what we take for granted can really make a difference in someone’s life.
How have you made a difference to others? How have others made a difference to you?

On a hot summer day, a soft drink can really take away your thirst. At home, at school, in the park or at the movies—you can find one almost anywhere.

       Carbonated(碳酸的)

       You can see bubbles in these! Of all soft drinks sold, about 75 percent are carbonated. But be careful, carbonated soft drinks have lots of sugar and caffeine. Caffeine is not very good for you in the summer, because it takes water out of your body. And the sugar can make you overweight if you drink too much.

       Fruit juice

       There are different kinds of juice. One kind is made only from fresh fruit. This kind of fruit juice may not taste sweet enough for some people, but it is nutritious. Another kind of fruit juice tastes good but has lots of sugar in it. Many young people buy this kind because the advertisements are good. It is bad for your teeth and bones to drink lots of this.

       Energy drinks

       These kinds of drinks have caffeine and things that make people get excited in them. They are sometimes called “party drinks”. Doctors say that if you drink too much of this kind, you may have a heart attack.

       Bottled water

       We have lots of different kinds of bottled water, such as mineral water, purified water and distilled(蒸馏的) water. They are clean and easy to drink. But it is best not to drink very cold water. It may make your stomach feel bad.

       Sports drinks

       Most of these have funny names like “Scream” and “G-Vital”. They have lots of vitamins and minerals in them. After you play sports, you may want to drink one of these.

       But if you just spend your summer holiday sitting around watching TV, you won’t need them at all!

Which of the following is NOT suitable for you to take if you go climbing?

       A. Carbonated soft drinks.                         

B. Fruit juice.

       C. Bottled water.                                             

D. Sports drink.

If you have to stay up late, what kind of water may help you?

A. Fruit juice.       

B. Energy drinks.  

C. Bottled water.          

D. Sports drink.

What’s the probable reason for you to drink sports drinks after sport?

       A. They have funny names that sound very exciting.

       B. They can recover the minerals lost in your sweat.

       C. They can effectively get rid of your thirst.

       D. They can take away your vitamins and minerals.

What’s the main purpose of the author writing this article?

       A. To advise us to keep away from unhealthy soft drinks.

       B. To teach us some useful ways of keeping healthy.

       C. To make advertisements for the soft drink companies.

       D. To tell us how to choose a suitable one from different drinks.

Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.

The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup(民意调查) Organization questioned them by telephone in 2010. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.

The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.

Arthur Stone at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.

Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.

Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.

The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.

The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.

1.

What can be the best title of the text?

2.

We can learn from the research that _________.

3.

According to the research, when people get older, _________.

4.

What would the author probably talk about next?

5.

The purpose of the passage is to _________.

 完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

         阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

When Winston Churchill was a young man, his father concluded that Churchill was “unfit for a career in law or politics” because he did so badly in school.  

When Charles Darwin was getting ready to   36   on his five-year expedition on The Beagle, his father was extremely   37  . he thought his son was falling into a life of sin and idleness.

George Washington’s mother was a complaining,   38   woman by all accounts. She thought little of Washington’s achievements and didn’t   39   at either of his presidential inaugurations（就职典礼）. She was always complaining that her   40   overlooked her and she was especially angry when her son George ran off to   41   the army for the American Revolution. She   42   believed it was his duty to stay home and take care of her.

In his youth, the   43   Leonard Bernstein, one of the most talented and successful composers in American history, was continually pressured by his father to give up his   44   and do something worthwhile, like help out in his family’s beauty-supply business. After Leonard became   45  , his father was asked about that, and he answered, “Well, how was I supposed to know he was the Leonard Bernstein?”

People may criticize you or make fun of your ideas or actively try to   46   you. Often their efforts are only attempts to protect you from   47  . But obviously failure is only a possibility if you stop. If you keep   48  , a “failure” is just another learning   49  . Besides, giving up on a heartfelt goal is worse than failing. “Many people die”, said Wendell Holmes, “  50   their music still in them.” That’s true tragedy.

So listen   51   to the worries and criticisms of your friends and family, and do your best to put their   52   at ease, but then carry on. Listen last to your own heart. You   53   yourself better than anyone on earth. Make sure your song is   54  .  

Listen to your own heart. Don’t let your music   55   with you.

36．A．set sail                          B．take charge                 C．set free                         D．take off

37．A．excited                          B．pleased                         C．disappointed               D．affected

38．A．self-centered              B．self-confident              C．kind-hearted               D．cold-blooded

39．A．show off                       B．show up                        C．pick out                         D．pick up

40．A．parents                         B．neighbors                     C．students                       D．children

41．A．fight                               B．beat                               C．command                     D．attend

42．A．foolishly                        B．secretly                        C．bravely                          D．honestly

43．A．late                                B．latter                             C．former                          D．later

44．A．strength                       B．music                            C．wealth                          D．faith

45．A．proud                            B．steady                           C．independent                D．famous

46．A．  advise                         B．suggest                        C．stop                               D．keep

47．A．success                         B．failure                           C．poison                           D．laziness

48．A．stopping                       B．starting                        C．going                             D．coming

49．A．method                         B．experiment                  C．schedule                       D．experience

50．A．with                               B．beyond                          C．without                         D．during

51．A．politely                          B．rudely                            C．thoroughly                   D．roughly

52．A．homes                           B．minds                            C．businesses                            D．efforts

53．A．trust                              B．believe                          C．know                             D．doubt

54．A．finished                         B．completed                   C．written                         D．sung

55．A．live                                 B．die                                  C．sound                            D．play

Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.

By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic (逻辑) behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”

Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.

Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.

Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.

Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.

1. What would be the best title for the text?

    A. A Way on How to Write             

B. Increase Your Brain Power through Writing

    C. Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing

D. How to Start Your Writing

2. According to the text, writing can help you a lot in the following ways EXCEPT ______.

    A. the increase of your brain power           B. the ability to remember

    C. the development of your interest in study  D. the better understanding of a topic

3.The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______.

    A. you are already successful             B. you still need to work hard

    C. writing can help you walk half way     D. writing is important to solve problems

4.What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?

    A. To advise readers to start their writing.

    B. To explain the importance of writing.

    C. To persuade readers to become writers.

    D. To increase readers’ brain power.